Royal Magazine Features: Zara Philips on the cover of Tatler, October 2011

Zara Philips, daughter of Captain Mark Philips and Princess Anne and thirteenth in line to to British throne, has given an interview to the UK edition of Tatler which will be featured in their October issue. According to the Telegraph, Zara gives some great soundbites.

On why Princess Anne didn’t give her the HRH title she said,

“I don’t know actually. I should ask her. I think it was good, though. My brother and I have been able to get on and have been very lucky to do things with our family that other people wouldn’t have been able to do. But then again, we’ve also been able to live a normal life as well.”

That certainly sounds like a good compromise. Without a title and royal role, Zara and her brother both have to work for a living. Unlike her brother Peter, Zara did not sell her wedding pictures to Hello or any other publication. Peter’s decision to do so caused quite a furor; evidently the Queen and other senior royals had not been informed of this decision and I can only imagine the brow beating he got, and rightly so.

But perhaps we should leave that topic for another post. Zara’s decision to be interviewed and photographed by Tatler seems to be a compromise; this way she gets to promote her work as an equestrian and ambassador for various companies without selling anyone else out (no candid pictures of Prince Harry, for example, dancing away at the wedding reception). Plus, I quite like that cover photo. Very Grace Kelly with the crisp white shirt and slicked back blond hair, but with a modern twist.

Zara does seem like an extremely hard worker and is currently training with the goal of competing in the London Olympics in 2012. Side note: this is purely selfish, but how much fun would it be to watch the Queen, Princess Anne, and Zara’s cousins watching Zara compete? Let’s keep our fingers crossed for that one.

For now, here’s a picture of Zara over the weekend at the Land Rover Burghley Horse Trials. As an ambassador for Land Rover, the company headlining the event, she became the first person to take deliver of the new Evoque Land Rover.

Via Carpages.com

We really don’t begrudge Zara this. It’s true that were she not Princess Anne’s daughter she would have had a harder time landing these lucrative deals, but at the end of the day she seems like a down to earth person in a tough spot. Going back in history, no other grandchild of a ruling British Sovereign has had to forge their own path with a career. She and Peter are paving the way and, apart from a couple bumps in the road, appear to be doing a pretty good job. Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie will likely be following suit and it will be interesting to see how that plays out. More on that later!

(As an aside, how many of you noticed that the author of the Tatler article refers to Zara as ‘Tara’ in one of the photos? …..Hmmmmm!)